God's Word on That

Tag: Abiding

To abide in Christ Jesus is the highest calling of man

  • Prayer Is The Asking

    Prayer = Son-bathing. It makes you look different. The more Son you get, the less likely you will burn.

    Let us learn to pray about everything. Let us pray without ceasing.

    Devote yourselves to prayer, being [always] watchful and [always] thankful (Colossians 4:2).

    Pray as you can, not as you can’t.

    Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.

    And the Lord said to Moses: Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? (Numbers 11:23)

    Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14)

    The Everlasting God – the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the [universe] – does not become weary or tired! (Isaiah 40:28)

    As, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You! (Jeremiah 32:17)

    All things are possible with God (Mark 10:27).

    For with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37).

    But with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

    What is impossible with men is possible with God (Luke 18:27).

    … All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23).

    I tell you the truth: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on hearth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

    Wait on the Lord! Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14).

    In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15).

    When ambition and pride cause us to forget that it was God who has brought us this far, we must pay the price of our sin. Pride causes us to set ourselves up as gods.

    Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1).

    [Instead] Pray continually (2 Thessalonians 5:17).

    Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).

    Pride about our good deeds is pointless. God has His own ideas regarding what is good, and He does not always agree with us. If there is anything good about you, believe better things about others. This will keep you humble. [Being humble means being ready for use.]

    And one parting thought for guiding us in the way we should walk:

    Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it sins (James 4:17).

  • God’s Power For The Asking

    Now Lord, … grant to Your servants that with all boldness we may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your Holy Servant Jesus (Acts 4:29-30).

    What are we waiting for? All we have to do is ask.

    Ride forth on behalf of truth, humility and righteousness. Let Your right hand display awesome deeds (Psalm 45:4).

    Mary said, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5).

    Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:19-20).

    Whatever you ask the Father in My name [using My nature and authority] He will give you (John 16:23).

    Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:24).

    Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have [those] petitions that we have asked of Him (1 John 5:14-15).

    And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And by this we know that He abides in us; by the Spirit whom He has given us (1 John 3:22, 24).

    Whoever shall say unto this mountain: be removed and cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that these things he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he says (Mark 11:23).

    If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22).

    But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt. Because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:6-8).

    Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them (Mark 11:24).

    You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it [My gifts] in your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world [and its things] is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be friends of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scriptures say in vain: The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? (James 4:3-5)

    Because of your unbelief! For assuredly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it will move! Nothing will be impossible for you! (Matthew 17:20).

    A good man will be satisfied from above (Proverbs 14:14).

  • God’s Power In Us

    I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know (1) the hope to which He has called you, (2) the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and (3) His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:18-21).

    By ourselves we can do absolutely nothing. But with God in us — we can shine!

    Even When I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I declare Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come (Psalm 71:18).

    The reality of the presence of God is what children need to know for God to be real to them.

    We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age. Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

    When Jesus had called the twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons, and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1).

    Jesus came to them and said: “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” (Matthew 28:18).

    He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. Likewise we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve… (2 Corinthians 13:4)

    But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:8).

    The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20).

    I tell you the truth. Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name and I will do it! (John 14:12-14)

    I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven [and you get to avoid the judgment coming to the world] (Luke 10:17-18).

    And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes with their hands, and when they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all. They will place their hands on sick people and they will get well (Mark 16:17-18).

    If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you will, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory: that you bear much fruit (John 15:7-8).

    Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind (Romans 14:5)

    Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or [can even] imagine – according to His power that is at work within us – to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations (Ephesians 3:20-21).

  • Come, Let Us Worship Together

    But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him (John 4:23).

    May my heart show compassion and my words thanksgiving; and like the rest of the universe and all creation, may my very being sing praises to our God. 

    Arise! Shine! For your light has come! The glory of the Lord rises upon you! (Isaiah 60:1)

    God gave you the world – enjoy it.  (Max Lucado)

    Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live. I will lift up my hands in Your holy name (Psalm 63:3-4).

    Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker (Psalm 95:6).

    Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).

    You make me glad by Your deeds, O Lord. I sing for joy at the works of Your hands (Psalm 92:4)

    Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our day (Psalm 90:14).

    Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob (Psalms 81:1).

    Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him (Psalm 33:1).

    They will celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness (Psalm 145:7).

    It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. To declare Your loving-kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness every night (Psalm 92:1-2).

    I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being! (Psalm 104:33)

    My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… His mercy is on those who fear Him (Luke 1:46-47, 50).

    Worship is the thank you that refuses to be silenced.

    Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the peoples say “Amen!” (Psalm 106:48)

    We will not hide them from our children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done! (Psalm 78:4)

    Let those who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them that those who love Your name may rejoice in You (Psalm 5:11).

    Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say: rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

    May my meditations be pleasing to Him as I rejoice in the Lord (Psalm 104:34).

    Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to (Deuteronomy 12:18).

    Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! (Revelation 19:7)

    Rejoice always! Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

    May the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you! (Numbers 6:25 TLB).

  • Let Us Return to Praising Him

    Our task is not to try and understand the world and His plan, or even all creation; our task is but to reflect the spirit of the Creator and sing His praises.

    You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation [a people set apart]. His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

    Praise and give thanks to God continually, in all ways on all days, regardless of your circumstances. (Bill Bright).

    Sing to God, sing praises to His name; cast up a highway for Him who rides through [our] deserts – His name is the Lord (Psalm 68:4).

    Praising God for troubles ends them. Praising God for blessings extends them. 

    Let God be magnified! (Psalm 70:4)

    Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His glory (Psalm 72:18-19).

    Praise God for His solution to the problem.  Instead of focusing on yourself and your problem, focus on God’s care for you.

    You have turned my mourning into dancing. You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness to the end that my glory may sing praises to You, and not be silent! O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You… (Psalm 30:11-12)

    O Lord God, You have [only] begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand! For what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? (Deuteronomy 3:24).

    Stop and consider God’s wonders!  (Job 37:14)

    Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

    How great are Your works, O Lord.  How profound Your thoughts!  (Psalm 92:5)

    I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me (Psalm 13:6).

    How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? (Psalm 116:12)

    Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you (Psalm 116:7)

    Are you looking for a miracle? Then open your eyes cause there’s one that happens every morning just around sunrise.

    It is God alone that one takes seriously. But to take God seriously is to find joy and spontaneity in everything, for everything is a gift and a grace.

    The conviction of God’s grace results in expressions of joy!

    He has put a new song in my mouth: Praise to our God. Many will see it and fear and will trust in the Lord [through my praises]. (Psalm 40:3)

    A merry heart does good, like medicine (Proverbs 17:22).

    He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15).

    A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance (Proverbs 15:13).

    I have learned in whatever state I am to be content (Philippians 4:11).

  • Let Us Examine Our Ways

    If we will get alone with God, He will reveal the reason for our present pain. And as we learn the Word and do the Word, we will experience His healing and the blessings of freedom as He restores our soul. The battle you are in will soon become a meal for you – an experience that will nourish and build you up spiritually.

    Being alone with God through our desert wanderings can be a beautiful experience.

    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

    Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through [and for] Him (Colossians 3:17).

    As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask God to protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be in spite of all my fires of sorrow… We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are. And it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them. Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find he has plenty of time for you.. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous… If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for others! (Oswald Chambers)

    [Do] not trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17).

    Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10).

    So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain, it takes away the life of it’s possessor (Proverbs 1:19).

    Why do you call Me “Lord, Lord” and not do as I say? (Luke 6:40)

    No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and man/money (Matthew 6:24).

    Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed (Hebrews 12:12-13).

    Let all the godly confess their rebellion to You while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment! (Psalm 32:6)

  • Love Even Your Enemy

    In demanding that I respect the rights of another, God is not merely asking me to conform to some abstract, arbitrary law. He is enabling me to share, as His son/daughter, in His own care for my brothers. (Thomas Merton)

    Care for my brother, even if he considers himself to be an enemy, is my duty.

    The King will answer them, “I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40).

    All that is physical is passing away. As long as I keep holding onto a ‘thing’, I continually set myself up for disappointment. If all I see is how you look and what you have, I’ll miss the point that you – like me – are a hurting spirit just looking for home. (Fr. Everding)

    Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this sums up the law and the prophets (Matthew 7:12).

    “He who showed mercy”… Jesus answered, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

    Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

    If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, you are doing right (James 2:8).

    So then my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slower[er] to wrath (James 1:19).

    Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil (Psalm 37:8).

    Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, “I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

    If your enemy is hungry, give him some food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him some water to drink. In this way you will make him feel guilty and ashamed, and the Lord will reward you (Proverbs 25:21-22).

    Do not be happy when your enemy falls, and do not feel glad when he stumbles. The Lord will see it, He won’t like it, and He will turn His anger away from that person (Proverbs 24:17-18).

    Forgiving one’s enemies does not mean to be faint hearted but to have a strong soul.

    Let all things be done for edification (1 Corinthians 14:26).

    It is better to be alone than in bad company. (George Washington)

    Don’t let anyone deceive you. Associating with bad people will ruin decent people (1 Corinthians 15:33).

    [Yet] A man who isolates himself seeks his own desires; he quarrels against all sound wisdom (Proverbs 18:1).

    So then, take your stand! Fasten truth around your waist like a belt. Put on God’s approval as your breastplate. Put on your shoes so that you are ready to spread the Good News that gives peace. In addition to all these, take the Christian faith as your shield. With it you can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Also take salvation as your helmet and the Word of God as the sword that the Spirit supplies. Pray in the Spirit in every situation; use every kind of prayer and request there is. For the same reason be alert; use every kind of effort and make every kind of request for all of God’s people. (Ephesians 6:14-18).

    Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21).

    Dear children, keep yourselves from idols! (1 John 5:21).

  • Now We Are To Love Each Other

    “Do you love Me?”  We will not likely hear this same question as an audible voice from Jesus as Peter did.  Instead the Lord will ask it again and again through the circumstances of our own life, and in particular through the crosses He sends us.  The occasion to express our love might be a physical suffering, a need to forgive or show patience to someone who has wronged us, or an interior wound or painful memory that just doesn’t go away.  But Jesus will ask, “Do you love Me?”

    With His love in us, it is possible for us to love each other as He loves.

    My command is this: love each other as I have loved you… Greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:12-13).

    This is how we know what love is: Jesus the Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers! (1 John 3:16)

    I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. Everyone will know that you are My disciples because of your love for each other (John 13:34-35).

    Love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)

    God loved me not because I was loveable but because it was His nature to do so.  Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying: “Love one another as I have loved you.”  I may get irritated at others while trying to do this, but just think how God has a right to be irritated with me!  Love is displayed in spontaneous ways, but it has to be maintained in the heart through discipline.

    Dear Friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other [with the same way]. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us [so we can share it] (1 John 4:11-12).

    Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

    For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another (1 John 3:11).

    My goal in giving these orders is for love to flow from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).

    Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words (1 John 3:18).

    Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs (Proverbs 10:12).

    This is my command: love each other! (John 15:17)

    Love means that we live by doing what He commands. We were commanded to live in love, and you have heard this from the beginning (2 John 6).

    … I ask that we love one another (2 John 5).

    Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:10-18).

    Be imitators of God therefore, as dearly loved children.  And live a life of love (Ephesians 5:1-2).

  • God First Loved Us

    We think God’s love for us rises and falls with our performance. It does not. His love is not normal. He loves us for whose we are, not what we do. He loves pious John and adulterous Mary Magdalene the same. It is not normal love!

    Love has been perfected among us for this reason: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is so are we in this world! (1 John 4:17)

    And now these three [still] remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

    We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up but love edifies. And if any man thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man loves God, the same is known of him (1 Corinthians 8:1-3).

    The Christian soul ought to go forward with her love, leaving all her understanding behind. Let her love God as He is in Himself, and not as her imagination says He is or pictures Him. (Miguel de Molinos)

    Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. God loves you deeply!

    I love You, O Lord, my strength (Psalm 18:1).

    That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice and may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days! (Deuteronomy 30:20)

    Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good (Romans 12:9).

    May Your unfailing love be my comfort according to Your promise to Your servant (Psalm 119:76).

    This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him! This is love! Not that we loved God [first] but that He loved us [first] and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10).

    A Christian seeks justice, true. But justice is primarily a negative concept, based on avoiding or preventing doing wrong to others. The law of love seeks the positive doing of good. It is the only law a Christian needs.

    Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the true. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

    There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love [God] because He first loved us (1 John 4:18-19).

    God is love. And he who abides in love, abides in God and God in him (1 John 4:16).

    It is simply not normal or natural for us to “love” God in a drastic discipline of a laid-down life.  We are a selfish people.  When called to serve others, we feel insulted.  We have a strange, worldly idea that to be of lowly service is to be “used” or “abused”.  Yet Jesus came among us as a servant. So we must be abnormal…

    Love going upward is worship.  Love going outward is affection.  Love stooping downward is grace.

    Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father. And I too will love him and show myself to him (John 14:21).

    If you love Me, keep My commandments… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him… (John 14:15, 23)

    As the Father gave me commandment, so I do! (John 14:31)

  • Let Us Walk By The Spirit

    “Death to the Flesh” is to be the battle cry of every child of God because if you don’t, it [the flesh] can kill you. When will we determine that we will walk by the spirit who dwells within? [Because the spirit realm is the reality, the material realm is only supplemental.] Many lose crowns by sparing Amalekites and their possessions, thinking some good could be used as a sacrifice to Christ Jesus somehow (1 Samuel 15:15).

    The first heaven we see by day, the second heaven we see by night. The third heaven we see by faith.

    Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have shared about God’s mercies and compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to Him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. Don’t become like the people of this world [stuck in the material]. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants – what is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).

    Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:31-32).

    Flee from youthful passions, and [instead] pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22).

    Character is made by what you stand for; reputation by what you fall far. (Alexander Woollcott)

    So then brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone move you off the foundation of your faith. Always excel in the work you do for the Lord. You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not pointless (1 Corinthians 15:58).

    Watch! Stand fast in the faith.  Be brave!  Be strong!  Let all you do be done with love (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).

    So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven! (Matthew 5:16)

    Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others as better than yourself (Philippians 2:3).

    Aim for perfection. Listen to my appeal. Be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Corinthians 13:11).

    Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3).

    Try to live peacefully with everyone, and try to live holy lives, because if you don’t, you will not see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14).

    Be a peace among yourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:13).

    Live as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8).